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reviews - august 98 Each review has an accompaning picture of the cover of one book from the publisher's catalogue. Send your money to them and get some comics. |
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My favorite stuff from this biannual anthology comes from Jordan Crane, the publisher. His characters feel crumpled even with his clean lines. Most of them are just inside of normal. A little too out of it and wierd. He's responsible for the great cover that features an iconic chef toteing a steaming Japanese letter on a plate. Packed with sixteen stories, the large majority of which are really smart and funny. The artwork is always sharp and brings other feelings to the otherwise gag/point driven writing. Many of the stories are short single pages, but few longer works are well paced and not overlong. I'd definitly like to see more from any of the four creators involved. There's a catalogue available, I suggest you send a SASE and ask for it. |
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The ongoing storyline is called 'Quit Your Job" and explores Stanley's financial troubles starting with his car breaking down. His financial situation causes him much frustration and his reaction to his problems are humorous because they have a very human quality attached to them. The problems Stanley faces are your run-of-the-mill b.s.. like how to pay the rent, no job, and no car. However, the humor lies in how one can relate to his problems and laugh at him since we know it looks silly to let our frustrations get the best of us and cause us to curse and flip the finger at nothing in particular like a wildman in the rain. Or maybe one wishes to do the very same thing and say "Damn, man, sometimes I feel like doing that!". Also presented in this book is a very whacked out dream sequence that can't quite be called a nightmare nor a daydream. Stanley's buddy, Ed, has a zen-like quality to his character while at the same time he is a bum with supposedly "phat" bank account. He does nothing but play video games ("research" for his future "job" in video game development), draw unemployment checks, and advise Stanley on how to live his life. He is the roommate you find annoying because everything appears very simplistic about his approach to life. Yet, he is a buddy and you have to love him for it. I have not been able to procure #1 to #2 at the local comic shop so I can get a full understanding of the characters and the storyline. However, just reading this one issue made me hungry for more and I wholeheartedly recommend reading this book. Just reading the letters page alone was worth the two bucks for the comic. I will be ordering the issues soon to rectify the situation and reporting back to you, our loyal readers! |
Stanley Stinkbug, #3 by C. Baldock, is reminiscence of the old
anthropomorphic and crudely animated cartoons (i.e.: "Steamboat Willie") with
a dash of underground comix flavor. The book looks if was a labor of love done
at the local Kinko's, but it has laser color copies for the wrap-around cover
and the interior in b/w. The main characters compose of a stinkbug, Stanely
Stinkbug, and his buddy, a dog named Ed. The style is very dark, either done
in pen and ink, or brush. The heavy blacks and crosshatching complements the
sarcasm and angst of Stanley Stinkbug, but the humor keeps the writing from
being a maniac depressive wet dream.